---
title: "Laopu Gold (Trans): Target GPM to stay at 40%-43%"
type: "Topics"
locale: "zh-HK"
url: "https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/39469872.md"
description: "Below is Dolphin Research's Trans from Laopu Gold's 2H2525 earnings call. For the earnings analysis, please see 'Laopu Gold: High-price follow-on; the Hermes of gold's big bet paid off!'"
datetime: "2026-03-24T04:33:06.000Z"
locales:
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/39469872.md)
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/39469872.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/39469872.md)
author: "[Dolphin Research](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/dolphin.md)"
---

> 支持的語言: [English](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/39469872.md) | [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/39469872.md)


# Laopu Gold (Trans): Target GPM to stay at 40%-43%

**Below is Dolphin Research's transcript of Laopu Gold's 2H25 earnings call. For our take on the results, cf. '**[**Laopu Gold: Tapping the market at peak prices — the 'Hermès of Gold' bets big and wins**](https://longbridge.cn/zh-CN/topics/39455329?channel=SH000001&invite-code=7XHHT4&app_id=longbridge&utm_source=longbridge_app_share&locale=zh-CN&share_track_id=525e6b28-c075-4df9-b3e7-e05eddc31971)**'.**$LAOPU GOLD(06181.HK)

**I. Key takeaways from the results**

**II. Earnings call details**

**2.1 Management highlights**

1) **Brand position**

a. Per Frost & Sullivan, in 2025 the company ranked No. 2 by domestic revenue among global luxury groups in China, and was the only Chinese brand within the global top five.

b. It ranked No. 1 in both sales per sqm and revenue at single malls in China.

c. Customer overlap with the five major international luxury houses (Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Cartier, Bulgari, etc.) rose from 77.3% in Jul-2025 to 82.4% in Mar-2026.

2) **Members and customers**

a. Membership reached 610k by end-2025, up by 260k vs. end-2024 (+74.3%).

b. Purchase frequency and ticket size increased materially.

c. **Repeat purchase rate is approx. 35%.**

3) **Channel expansion**

a. Ten new stores opened in 2025 (Shanghai 4, Beijing 2, plus Shenzhen, Nanjing, Hong Kong and Singapore 1 each).

b. The Marina Bay Sands Singapore store opened in Jun-2025, marking the start of internationalization.

c. In Oct-2025 Laopu entered Shanghai Plaza 66, becoming the only Chinese brand with full coverage of China's top 10 premium malls.

d. By end-2025, it had entered 34 premium malls across 16 cities, with 45 self-operated stores.

4) **Product innovation**

a. By end-2025, Laopu had over 2,300 original designs, 283 domestic patents, 1,683 copyrights, and 276 overseas patents.

b. Products such as the gold-bodied 'Qiqi' series integrating traditional 'luodian' inlay craftsmanship are leading industry innovation.

5) **Online biz.**

a. 2025 online revenue was RMB 4.657bn, contributing 17.1%.

b. Online sales are primarily via Tmall and JD flagship stores.

6) **Opex**

a. FY25 opex totaled RMB 3.9bn, with the opex ratio down to 14.3%.

b. Sales & distribution was RMB 3.16bn (11.6%), with 98%+ related to mall rents and e-commerce platform fees.

c. G&A was RMB 540mn (2%).

**2.2 Q&A**

**Q: With a strong Q1 start, how do you view 2026 growth and key drivers?**

A: The growth engine remains stronger product power, channel capability, and customer service capability, underpinned by brand equity built on product, channels, customers and the company's values. The key to sustaining the run-rate in the next three quarters is to further enhance product strength, channel execution and high-end customer management.

**Q: What specific actions will you take in 2026 to lift sales per sqm?**

A: Higher sales productivity already reflects our operating discipline and market execution. Over time, continuous reinforcement and iteration across product, customer, brand and channels will create outsized market effects and a compounding flywheel.

**Q: After the deepened partnership with Hang Lung last year, any new thoughts or measures on high-end customer management this year?**

A: High-end customer management is critical. In a broadly pressured consumption environment, high-end customers are the ballast for steady growth, and this remains essential whether the market is up or down.

Laopu's high-end customer strategy did not start last year; we planned it when the brand began national expansion and calibrated it by development stage. It requires clarity on who your top customers are, insight into their needs and trends, organizational support, and a systematic toolkit. We will keep to industry best practices while adding our own distinctive, disruptive approach. Since 2H25, results have emerged, and the Q1 surge clearly benefited from high-end customer management.

**Q: Plans for new stores and upgrades to existing channels?**

A: **In 2026, the focus in China is optimizing the existing store base.** In Shanghai, of the five stores, four (ex-IFC) already have signed agreements to optimize locations and footprint, with the first starting around Jun and the rest entering in the following 6–7 months. **Nationwide, 8–12 stores will be upgraded in 2026.**

**Before maximizing performance at existing domestic stores, new store expansion in China will remain cautious.** Overseas, we will actively push new stores in major cities across Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and Thailand (6–7 markets).

**Q: With a near-term gold price pullback, what measures will you take? Will you cut prices or launch lower-ticket products?**

A: First, to clarify, we have never guided for a structurally bullish gold view. We stress that we can perform well in both rising and falling gold price environments, which we have proven over 16 years including down-cycles.

When gold falls, the true test is brand power, product strength and customer service capability. Laopu has strong support in brand reputation, market image, pricing power, CRM and after-sales service. In a weak consumption cycle, our pricing premium, grounded in product, brand, channels and service, forges a new pay-for-value relationship with consumers that protects sales. **Simply put: always deliver maximum emotional value,** **and you stay undefeated.**

**Q: How is brand internationalization progressing? Are Japan/Korea affected by geopolitics?**

A: Internationalization is advancing per our channel positioning and timeline. We start with SE Asia, focusing on whether products meet local value perceptions and trend shifts to keep competitive advantage.

For Japan, dialogue on channel expansion remains normal, with little emphasis on politics. We do not sharply segment Chinese vs. non-Chinese customers, and we plan product lines according to local consumption habits, cultural customs and value orientation.

**Q: How has the customer mix evolved since listing? Are value-for-money seekers flooding in?**

A: We prioritize products first and let them attract their customers. Our base is large, with a high share of HNWIs and many who care about value, but almost none who are purely price-performance seekers.

Cost-performance is not a trait of high-end brands; cultural, craftsmanship and aesthetic premiums matter more. **Laopu has almost no 'value-for-money' customer cohort.**

**Q: How do you manage daigou channels?**

A: Mall operators bear primary responsibility since our stores are inside malls. We also proactively curb daigou behavior with compliance measures.

For non-compliant acts such as soliciting in malls or hoarding during promotions, we escalate to malls and coordinate with local police. On the sales side, we implement purchase limits to restrict daigou, not to create scarcity marketing. Shortages reflect genuine supply constraints tied to funding, not staged scarcity.

**Q: With inventory up sharply in 2H25 and new bank loans, do you need further financing?**

A: At scale, any company needs cash reserves, and ours are indeed tight. We primarily use pure gold as the key material for jewelry and artifacts, and pure gold is a monetary equivalent.

Over 90% of each financing goes directly into material purchases, and all funding is for business needs only. We are committed solely to Chinese traditional hand-crafted gold artifacts.

**Q: Intl luxury groups are pushing into gold jewelry. What are Laopu's advantages and limits?**

A: It is unlikely the three major global luxury groups will directly commit to traditional Chinese gold craftsmanship. If they change positioning to enter this lane, we welcome the competition; this is ultimately a cultural contest, not just brand power or corporate strength.

Our advantages are twofold. First, a balanced edge: deep understanding of Chinese tradition, refined Eastern aesthetics, 30 years of antique-collecting culture, and 16 years of operating experience. Second, values: a mission and pursuits beyond material gain. Both are hard to copy.

**Q: Is RMB 16bn inventory sufficient for this year's sales? Any write-down risk if gold prices fall?**

A: The RMB 16bn inventory can support over RMB 35bn of sales. We have already sold RMB 20bn, leaving RMB 15bn; the first RMB 20bn carried an 18%–20% net margin, and you can infer the rest.

On impairment, the Big Four apply very prudent measurement, and we recognize provisions annually. Under the lower of cost or NRV rule, our GPM and weighted-average cost methodology mean lower spot gold pulls down weighted cost if prices fall. From an accounting and provisioning perspective, we face no pressure or risk here.

**Q: Outlook on India? How do ticket sizes compare with intl luxury?**

A: India is not in our 2026 plan; future entry is undetermined.

On ticket sizes and product tiers: Laopu has two lines. **Below RMB 100k is mainly jewelry, and we see no brand offering a truly competitive line at this price point today.** Intl jewelry brands acknowledge that mainstream price bands have seen share shift toward Laopu, and they need to defend bespoke high-end tiers.

We will not pursue RMB 100k–200k jewelry because wearing RMB-hundreds-of-thousands items on the neck is uncomfortable. Our gold artifacts can achieve very high tickets (exaggeratedly up to RMB 100mn), but we do not compete head-on with intl brands on high-end jewelry.

**Q: Did increased promotions in 2H25 hurt brand equity? GPM outlook for 2026?**

A: Brand equity rests on product strength, channel positioning, CRM and after-sales systems. Whether a brand is high-end is not defined by discounts.

Discount or not, Laopu still posts the highest margins in the traditional gold segment, and **high GPM is itself a marker of brand power.** We have cooperated on mall promotions for 16 years, during which brand power and influence have only grown, with no adverse impact.

**Q: Do you hedge gold price risk? What is the positioning and strategy for online?**

A: We do not hedge. If you hedge while making traditional hand-crafted gold artifacts, you might as well trade futures; our aim is to promote traditional Chinese craftsmanship.

We are confident gold will not keep falling this year; even if it dips, it will be episodic. Laopu makes money in both up and down gold cycles.

**We will not change the inventory playbook established in Apr and Dec last year; sticking to it should imply a sizable 2026, in our view.**

Online positioning adheres to consistent brand tone and quality across online/offline. We offer a small set of relatively lower-ticket jewelry online, but not as loss leaders.

Our brand and customer word-of-mouth are strong: during the Mar 8 promotion, day one sales were RMB 1.4bn and day two RMB 1.7–1.8bn, with RMB 1bn sold out within minutes, demonstrating robust online clout.

**Q: Two consecutive 20%–30% price hikes — will this hit purchasing power?**

A: Pricing is a regular, pre-set mechanism 2–3 times a year, based on three considerations: pricing power and its growth, consumer response and trend assessment, and maintaining GPM needed for a world-class premium brand, referencing prior GPM.

On average, the two hikes were about 15%, with a target GPM of 40%–43%; we will not exceed this, nor reach the 70%–80% levels of intl jewelry brands. Thus far, post-adjustment, queues persist offline and growth remains normal, with no negative impact from price moves.

**Q: How did channels perform in Q1? Is there a ceiling for members?**

A: Q1 figures are real, but we will not disclose granular breakdowns by channel or city.

As for a member ceiling, our target customers are those who appreciate aesthetics, culture and spiritual value and have defined consumption value standards. Our early vision was 'one Laopu piece per household', so the ceiling is very high.

**Q: How is the product R&D team structured? What if the chief designer runs out of ideas? What about artifact mix and overseas acceptance?**

A: Product R&D is not about a single person; it is led by product managers doubling as R&D heads who understand brand, market, channels, customers, competitors, culture, craftsmanship and aesthetics, and who plan across dimensions.

At the individual product level, the design team takes over. We have established an R&D model and standards that can run even through succession.

Artifacts ('fine artifacts') once reached a 30% mix historically, then fell to about 15% now; with better high-end customer management and scale, we expect a 20%–25% mix. The first true mass rollout is slated before Mid-Autumn this year.

Overseas, Singapore remains mainly Chinese customers; we have not yet embedded the brand and products into Western consumer markets. Artifact R&D still centers on traditional Chinese classics, with strong sales for series like gold-bodied enamel and 'Qiqi'.

**Q: How sustainable and safe is the higher share of short-term debt?**

A: On credit stability, our partner banks have worked with us since pre-IPO, with lines rising annually. In the current macro environment, banks are actively tilting credit to quality clients, and rates have kept falling toward levels for top-tier borrowers.

On financial safety, funds go directly into monetary equivalents (gold raw materials); while credit lines are growing, leverage remains healthy. Tenors of short-term loans match inventory turnover, keeping risk within control.

**Q: How do you ensure product quality in QC?**

A: The foundation is values and business philosophy — quality is life. Our quality team has more resources than production, roughly 200 QC staff vs. 100 in production.

System-wise, there are about nine QC gates from prototyping to finished goods, ordering, warehousing, inspection, delivery to stores and customer handover. Every piece of jewelry and artifact comes with a National Testing Center certificate, which is unique among brands.

We also added destructive testing — monthly or bi-monthly destructive sampling of in-house and outsourced products to ensure intrinsic quality.

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